I’d argue that it was the opposite, that what happened Sunday at EverBank Field was highlight film material.

Not the play.

What came after it.

In case you missed it, let’s start with the play.

With 1:19 remaining in the game, the Cincinnati Bengals led 23-20. But with the ball near midfield, the Jaguars and rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert seemed to be setting the stage for a stirring finish.

Then on third-and-1 from their own 42, the Jaguars had a botched snap. And not just slightly botched. Gabbert was organizing the offense, motioning, looking slightly to his right, when center Brad Meester snapped the ball.

The ball went sailing past Gabbert and was recovered by the Bengals, who scored one more touchdown on the game’s final play and led the Associated Press to write:

“Move over, Bungles. There’s a new team to ridicule in the NFL.”

Ever since Sunday, there has indeed been plenty of ridicule. And plenty of fodder for it. Starting with the snap. When I watched it happen, I wanted to know what Meester and Gabbert would do after the game. Would they answer questions? Point fingers?

Excuse me for lapsing back into sportswriter mode, but this isn’t really about sports.

Victory tells us a lot about athletes. Defeat tells us a lot about people.

When I covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1990s, few franchises were as ripe for ridicule. I learned a LOT about the people on those teams. It was interesting to see who kept working hard, who pointed fingers and who deftly took the blame without really taking it — maybe making an excuse (often valid) or saying it was a team game (always true).

Meester has been with the Jaguars since 2000, giving him the longest tenure with the team. When asked about the snap, he answered unequivocally. He said it had nothing to do with Gabbert.

“It was 100 percent me,” Meester said. “He’ll try to take some, but I’m not going to let him. It’s completely on me.”

Gabbert did indeed try to take the blame, saying he expected the snap and should have caught it.

“It’s pretty self-explanatory,” he said. “I’ve got to get that down and I’ve got to catch the snap. Regardless. Period. End of story.”

(In case you’re wondering, Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said it looked like Meester had snapped the ball before Gabbert was ready. “How do I explain that?” he said. “The only thing I can tell you is it ultimately falls on my shoulders when it doesn’t go right, and I take the blame.”)

The Jaguars return to practice today. They’re on a losing streak, coming off an embarrassing finish. But if you’re looking for a reason to root for the rookie quarterback and veteran center, this is a great place to start. Not with your traditional highlight. With this.

The organization is always at fault if a team is repeatedly in the bottom of the standings just as the organization should be credited if a team is consistently near the top of the NFL standings. If the Detroit Lions can do it, so can the Jags. The organization just needs to make better choices in the draft, free agent acquisition and coaching staff. The fact that teams like the Lions and the Bills can turn things around should be encouraging to us Jag fans. Whatever they did, we need to do. Are you listening, Mr. Weaver?

While the fact that nobody on the Jacksonville Jaguars was pointing fingers at each other after committing one of the dumbest plays in franchise history was clear from the post-game material, it does wonders to have the glaring obvious appear in print days afterward, and in a manner suggesting this town is too stupid to have already figured it out.

It's sort of as stupid as standing on the sideline fretting because you are not able to communicate with the quarterback helmet because the Patriots are jamming the transmission frequency somewhere in the stadium.

Not only are the Jaguars the laughingstock of the NFL, they are the Kyle Petty Racing team of the NFL, and, as most NFL fans in Jacksonville know, they are a lame duck franchise, still mentioned as a leading candidate for re-location to the new Los Angeles NFL stadium.

Conflicts of interests with the Southern California area are all over the field, head the coaching staff, and serve notice that regardless of whether the stadium is full or empty the team retains this strong Southern California connection for a specific reason.

Weaver says he's not selling, but does he say he's not moving? Didn't he also say that he fully expects the 2011 Jaguars to be in the play-offs or "Alibi" Jack Del Rio was a gonner?

@ed910: I read allot of Madkow's post and he is very knowledgable about this team and seems to really care about their success. He is like any fan that wants his team to win. I lived in DC for a while and believe me when the Redskins were loosing, the stuff you would hear fans of the say makes these post sound pretty harmless. The bottom line is the organization needs to have a complete culture change to make sure we keep this team here. I think that is what most posters want.

@MadKow:
Again, I understand your frustration and agree with most of your comments. As a season ticket holder or someone who can't afford to be a season ticket holder but goes to games, certainly can express their feelings about the "return on their investment".

I'm "just sayin" that stating that people don't care, even "not by much" is over the line in my opinion. Everyone has opinions ours just differ that's all.

I would like to see the Jaguars get a WR, someone who can't stretch the field and score quickly. Right now, I don't think the tea
Is built to come back in quick order and win a game. MJD and Mercedes Lewis are close.

I also think the Jags draft to many players from small colleges. I'm not down grading the college or players, but the smaller schools don't play the toughest schedule week in and week out. Sometimes I think if Tulsa Welding School had a team, Gene Smith would select a member of that team.

The Jags go for good citizens, which I applaud, over good players. That being said, sometimes a mean player, ala a Randy White, Ray Nitschke, Dick Butkus, etc, is needed.

I agree with most fans that a change at head coach is needed. I wonder if Wayne Weaver had a manager of a Shoe Carnival who produced as poorly as the Jags, that manager would've been gone a long time ago.

I admire your passion MadKow and hope that if the results you produce at your job are not so good, I would hope no one would say you didn't care.